Pointing out that there has been no progress in work of the Kutch branch of Narmada canal in the past four years, Kutch Development Council.
Pointing out that there has been no progress in work of the Kutch branch of Narmada canal in the past four years, Kutch Development Council, an umbrella organisation of Kutchis in Ahmedabad, has sought 'personal intervention of chief minister Narendra Modi' for expeditious completion of the canal work.
"We find the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNNL) insincere, as it goes on changing deadlines for the completion of the Kutch canal. As Modi holds the Narmada portfolio and always claims to have special love for Kutch, we have decided to seek his help," Ashok Mehta, chairman of the Kutch Development Council, told DNA.
He said the total length of Kutch branch canal was 360 km, out of which 100 km was in the adjoining Banaskantha district. "Work on 75 kms of the Kutch branch was planned at a cost Rs250 crore and work was allotted to six contractors four years ago. Digging in first 20 kms of the canal was to be done at a cost of Rs20 crore. But work hasn't been completed even on a single km of the canal in the last four years, even though some BJP leaders of Kutch claim that work is going on in full swing."He added, "We met AN Mistri, director in-charge (civil) of the SSNNL, on June 23. He informed us that the canal work for the first 20 kms in Kutch had now been given to Sadbhav Engineers of Ahmedabad, and would be completed soon."
“In the past, the Nigam has extended the deadline for completion of work several times. In July 2006, the deadline was said to be 2009-10. In April 2007, the deadline was extended to June 2011. Last month, the latest deadline was indicated to be 2013-14," he said, adding that the Nigam had to build 360 kms of the canal at a cost of Rs2,700 cr in stages, but no survey and designing work has yet been completed.
Mehta further said that the border district of Kutch was to get 0.5 million acre feet of Narmada water to irrigate 1.75 lakh hectares and another one million acre feet in monsoon to irrigate three lakh hectares. "This could produce crops worth Rs1,800 crore every year."
Raising the issue of wrong priority in starting canal work, Mehta said work on the canal was first undertaken in areas where there was no shortage of water. According to information given in the Assembly last year, out of 15 districts to benefit from the Narmada canal, eight districts in south and central Gujarat had seen completion of 50 per cent canal work. But in Kutch, which is a perennially water scarcity-hit district, even one per cent work hasn't been completed.
He said the Kutch Development Council had sent letters to all who matter in the district for creating public awareness on the issue and enlist their intervention to speed up work.
"I was shocked to find that the BJP MLAs from Kutch merely forwarded our letter to the higher-ups in the govt," Mehta said.
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